Over the last 12 years of supporting business case writers, Investment Management Standard facilitators and business case reviewers, I’ve found that the top five weaknesses most common to the business cases I have reviewed are:
- Weakness 1: Writing the business case with a set solution in mind – this can result in an inappropriate investment that won’t fix the ‘real’ problem.
- Weakness 2: Poorly defined problems – this can result in limiting and/or warping the best strategic response.
- Weakness 3: Lack of problem and benefit evidence – this can result in a failure to prove that the problem actually exists; why government needs to act now; and how you will achieve the investment outcomes.
- Weakness 4: Lack of genuine strategic responses and project options – this can result in missed opportunities for innovative strategies and more effective solutions.
- Weakness 5: Inadequate discussion of the delivery structure and governance – this can result in missed opportunities to prove the funding is in good hands.
As you write, keep in mind your reviewers and how they will evaluate your investment.
Remember, a central agency reviewer may only have a limited amount of information about your organisation or investment. Consider who you think your stakeholders are and whether your reviewer would agree. Often, there is a significant variance between who you think you are helping and who central agency thinks you should be helping. Will your reviewer feel confident you can deliver?
Another common business case weakness is a lack of consistency throughout the content, particularly between investment management products, such as an ILM and the business case. This is usually noticeable when the ILM has been done after the business case – to meet compliance. Inconsistency is confusing to time-poor analysts and reduces trust in the capability of the working group and the validity of the investment.
Whilst in the Victorian Government, one of the tools I helped develop was the Investment Decision-Maker’s Checklist. It is one of the key tools a Department of Treasury and Finance reviewer uses for evaluating your business case. The Investment Decision-Maker’s Checklist, also known as the 16 Question Tool, asks the prime questions that any decision-maker needs answered before funding an investment.
I’d love to hear what other problems you’ve experienced in business case writing or what you found worked.